


re: the type he likes

by lategenocide



Series: this is keshi. [5]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: M/M, Or does he, Renjun gives advice, donghyuck has a crush on mark, donghyuck is an urban planner, donghyuck pretty much lives in renjun's apartment, inspired by keshi's bys, jaemin is the cupid of dream, jeno clueless we love him, renjun is a psych major, renjun is donghyuck's advice giver for everything, renjun is very smart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:48:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28023450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lategenocide/pseuds/lategenocide
Summary: “I think the phrase you’re looking for is smooching off someone else,” Renjun corrected. “You’re eating up most of my groceries at this point. Don’t you have your own apartment in the city?”“I share it with like two other people.”“Tragic, not my problem.”Donghyuck rolled his eyes playfully where Renjun couldn’t see it, “I’m going to make it your problem.”( or: renjun thinks donghyuck like mark; it matches donghyuck's type. unfortunately (or not), this time- he's wrong )
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Donghyuck | Haechan
Series: this is keshi. [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1746751
Comments: 7
Kudos: 188





	re: the type he likes

**Author's Note:**

> this was inspired by keshi's b.y.s  
> (it is also a submission to a short story contest on reedsy, only with different names, so that's why it's quite short)

“Your crush on Mark is too far gone for me to save you,” Renjun said dismissively, as he did with everything. He didn’t even bother looking up from his book- probably some pretentious classic he’d been into these days. Donghyuck was sitting on the couch next to him, having barely just breached the subject of liking Mark Lee. It wasn’t the answer he’d been expecting from his best friend, but maybe Donghyuck should just stop being stupid, honestly; of course, Renjun would’ve become more aware of his crush before him, the one having a crush.

“Do I even want to know when you figured out I had a crush?” Donghyuck asked, laughing. He was awfully fond of his best friend, and the woody brown of his eyes- something about Renjun was a cross between dark academia and glittery stars. In some ways, Renjun was just the smart best friend, but in some ways, specifically, the ways that Donghyuck deemed far out of the reach of normal human brains, he was (in Donghyuck’s words), a god of his own. He’d recently dyed his hair to a silver purple too, and it suited him, adding to that gentle scholarly looked that was already there with his round, thin wire-framed glasses.

Case in point: Jaemin had once gone to Renjun for advice on how to write a ten page essay. Renjun wasn’t an essay person (none of the friend group was, to be honest) but he’d managed to somehow crank out a neat list of strategies and points to consider. Jaemin, after procrastinating for two weeks, wrote a ten page essay in three days and made an A. 

Renjun huffed, “I knew you had a massive crush on Mark when I saw you beat Yoohyuck in that race everyone was betting on and the first person you started for the moment you won was him. Even Jeno could tell, and you know how oblivious he is.”

Donghyuck choked on air, “Even Jeno? No _way_ , telling me you’re lying. Renjun, seriously?” 

Renjun passed him an offhanded glance, “He came up to me while you were busy trying to hug Mark to death and asked me if it was possible you perhaps liked Mark.”

“And what did you say?” Donghyuck prompted.

“I said you’d be an idiot to not see that the answer is yes.”

It was a typical Renjun answer, sharp and just a little bit of rudeness. If he didn’t somehow indirectly insult _someone’s_ intelligence, then Donghyuck would be more worried than thankful that his wits had been questioned for the nth time. 

“Okay, now help me. What should I do?” Donghyuck whined. He laid his on top of Renjun’s book, forcing his attention away from tattooed dead trees. 

Renjun gave his head a small, half-hearted shove, “Didn’t I say your crush is beyond my help? Ask Taeyong or something.”

“Taeyong would tell me to follow my heart, which is just him insinuating I should probably just confess my feelings,” Donghyuck complained.

“It’s solid advice, it’s not like Mark hates you.”

“Mark is probably straight. Tell me he doesn’t have straight people energy, I dare you.”

Renjun pauses, “... A bit.” 

Donghyuck sighed dramatically, pointing an equally dramatic finger up at Renjun’s pushing up his drooping glasses from him in the process. He’s close enough to see the tiny freckled marks on Renjun’s face, and the small scar under his lip, “And do straight men like men? No, Renjun. So what do I do?”

“ _What do I do_ , he whines,” Renjun mocked. “Like I’ve ever had a crush before.”

“Humor me,” Donghyuck nudges. “Do your thing and rip me to shreds or whatever.” Donghyuck felt no shame in asking Renjun about anything ever because despite not having experience, somehow everything he suggests manages to be correct and worked out in the end. This was why Donghyuck felt his apparently illogical belief in Renjun to come up with an answer would never fail. 

Renjun gave him an odd glance, “You never like it when I’m honest.” 

Correct- Donghyuck never did, because Renjun (according to his calculations) wasn’t human. Everything he’d ever said was right. Which for normal people like Donghyuck, who oftentimes could easily be wrong, was kind of grating. Nonetheless, Renjun’s godly status in his head was always a vote of confidence in the right direction. 

“But you say it anyway,” Donghyuck drawled. “So talk.” with the jib, Renjun scrunched up his nose, poking at Donghyuck’s cheek ungratefully. 

“Your crush is definitely not born of just liking Mark-”

“You lost me,” Donghyuck interrupted. 

“Shut up, I’m getting there,” Renjun scowled. “Remember your high school crush? Xiao Dejun-” At that, Donghyuck simply took things into his own hands and sat up, covering Renjun’s mouth with his hands. Renjun’s eyes narrow, scowling at him for it. 

“We’re not going to talk about that, thanks,” Donghyuck hissed. 

Renjun pulled Donghyuck’s hands off him, “Yes, we are actually. I actually have another example from even more recently, also known as the nameless flower shop owner. The way you like Mark is very odd compared to Xiao Dejun and nameless flower shop owner- with Mark, you cling when there’s something you’ve done, like you want attention, with the other, you simply act like the typical tsundere stereotype.” Renjun kept Donghyuck off him with the simple strength of will power as he talked. “By the way, your attachment type is secure, so it doesn’t really make sense that you tend to cling to Mark when we’re all around.”

“Hold on, how do you know my attachment style? What the hell is an attachment style anyway?” Donghyuck asked, grabbing onto Renjun’s smaller hands, in case his best friend attempted to murder him by pushing him off and allowing him to hit his head on the oak table. 

“It’s a theory on how you bond with people in your life based on how you grew up,” Renjun explained briefly. “There’s four: secure, dismissive, anxious, and fearful.”

“Are you saying I have a good relationship with my attachments to people?” Donghyuck asked, scrunching up his nose.

“For the most part, sure. You just need to stop trying to manipulate people into thinking you’re a certain way when you’re not,” Renjun explained before he frowned, and then the look faded away just like that as if it was the snap of a finger. Donghyuck had a bad feeling. He was quite familiar with that look- he had once been on the receiving end of that look a few times- Renjun was probably thinking about something unexpected but somehow accurate to the finale of whatever disaster the others stirred up. 

“What?” Donghyuck nudged. “You have that ‘I’m gonna say something that makes sense to only me’ look on your face again.”

Renjun didn’t seem to hear him, but he looked up at Donghyuck’s puzzled face and said, “Donghyuck… who do you really like?”

So for once in his life, Donghyuck was right; and just like almost every other time he was right, he was right about something he didn’t want to be right about.

“You lost me again,” he said. Donghyuck let go of Renjun’s hands, falling sideways onto the couch. His legs laid on Renjun’s lap while his light brown hair- bleached that color just last week, splayed messily on the couch. “I mean, I have a crush on _Mark_ , not- I don’t know, not Marks.” 

Renjun narrowed his eyes, but there was a smile playing on his lips, “I know, stupid. Who do you think figured it out before you?” Donghyuck scoffed, glancing away. Renjun’s book laid on the ground, low forgotten for Donghyuck’s romance troubles. He sat back on the couch, thoughtful as he acted as Donghyuck’s brain in the place of Donghyuck’s brain cells. 

“ _Technically_ , you don’t know if Mark’s straight-”

“Are you saying my gaydar is faulty?” 

“You’re not always right, so yes,” Renjun retorted ruthlessly. Donghyuck made a strangled, offending noise in the back of his throat, but Renjun was adept at ignoring him. “You could just follow theoretical Taeyong’s advice and just confess your feelings and get over your feelings naturally.”

“You’re awful,” Donghyuck chimed in helpfully. Logically, nothing in Renjun advice was wrong exactly, confessing was always a tried and true method of finding out the other party’s feelings, but Donghyuck had a good idea of Mark’s feelings in his opinion, and he didn’t want to bother with a confession when he knew what way it was going to go. “Also, what did you mean when you said ‘who do you really like’? It made no sense and I would like my best friend back, please.”

“You’re the awful one,” Renjun bit back, just for Donghyuck to grab at his chest, acting as though he had been shot through the heart by him. Renjun laughed, then said, “I don’t know. Your crush on Mark makes no sense; you don’t go for guys you don’t think you have a chance with-”

“Uhm, the nameless hottie from the flower shop begs to differ-”

“Shut up, you know damn well he was in your league- bisexual, likable, didn’t run in the opposite direction when you appeared-” Renjun got kicked in the chest with Donghyuck’s foot with the last few words. “Dejun turned out to be pansexual, didn’t he? And here you are, with _Mark_ , the expert at being straight. The only similarity he has with the rest of them is he’s a generally good, likable person. But maybe I’m thinking in the sense the way you see love has changed, who knows?” Renjun raised his eyebrows at Donghyuck in question.

“Don’t ask me, do I look like I’m self-aware?” Donghyuck muttered. 

“No.”

“Shut up, Renjun.”

  
  


In the end, Renjun’s solution, since Donghyuck refused to confess his feelings to a straight guy, was to begin the process of moving on.

Which, in Donghyuck’s brain, seemed to be avoiding Mark like a cat avoiding a bath. If Renjun hadn’t known Donghyuck for half of his life, he would think it was annoying how much more often Donghyuck was at his house, ruining his kitchen with the constant scent of ramen.

Renjun complained to the group chat often (the one without Mark in it, so that the rest of them could keep up with the Donghyuck/Mark drama), grumbling about Donghyuck's mess. He hadn’t kicked him out once yet, though, which meant he didn’t mind. 

“Don’t you have work?” Renjun asked as he came home to find Donghyuck hanging out in his living room. 

Donghyuck gestured expansively at the coffee table, buried under Donghyuck’s floor plans and straight edges, “I am. The boss wants another floor plan for the project, so I’m doing it here and showing them off to my coworkers tomorrow. They don’t care where I work, you know.” 

“Congratulations to your workplace for being flexible or whatever,” Renjun retorted sarcastically. “You ate all my back up ramen.” He took off his shoes, putting them neatly into the shoe rack before he walked into the apartment, dropping his jacket onto the hanger hammered into the wall next to the TV. Donghyuck’s eyes followed Renjun all the way to the kitchen, where he poured himself a cup of hot water, dropping a few dried rosebuds into it. An amber color slowly spread through the water as Renjun turned away from it, and Donghyuck’s eyes followed. 

“Don’t be rude, I sacrificed my health so that yours isn’t a disaster,” Donghyuck replied, adopting an awful rendition of a pretentious voice. 

“I think the phrase you’re looking for is _smooching off someone else_ ,” Renjun corrected. “You’re eating up most of my groceries at this point. Don’t you have your own apartment in the city?”

“I share it with like two other people.”

“Tragic, not my problem.”

Donghyuck rolled his eyes playfully where Renjun couldn’t see it, “I’m going to make it your problem.”

“Please don’t,” Renjun popped his head out of the kitchen, “You know you can’t just avoid Mark forever, right? He’s still part of the friend group, Donghyuck.”

Donghyuck tipped his head up backward, turning the world upside down. He smiled lazily, “But I won’t get over him if I keep seeing him, Renjun~” Renjun’s scowl was disbelieving and half-hearted, and Donghyuck knew his argument didn’t quite hold up considering he had (somehow) gotten over his crush on Xiao Dejun, despite seeing him in electives nearly every day of the week. “We’re friends, aren’t we?” Then again, school breaks helped, so in Donghyuck’s head, the Xiao Dejun argument was flawed. 

Plus, to add to Donghyuck’s ego, they weren’t in school anymore, and Mark worked in the same company Donghyuck did, and therefore, it was really quite unfortunate.

“Shameless,” Renjun scoffed, but he didn’t kick Donghyuck out of his apartment.

Donghyuck laughed lazily, “Love you too, Renjun,” and went back to messing with his floor plans at the expense of Renjun’s electricity bills. 

  
  


Renjun began piecing together something suspicious when Donghyuck started clinging to _him_ instead. 

He’d watched over Donghyuck for half of his life, how did he not know what Donghyuck was like- he was like this too, after the whole flower shop owner fiasco. Clinging his way through life, running to Renjun for comfort. For the most part, Renjun indulged in him; there was nothing wrong with supporting his best friend through heartbreak. 

Renjun had seen the worst of Donghyuck- honestly, there were more embarrassing moments than simply falling for a guy who didn’t swing his way. It’s just-

“It’s just that Donghyuck is fine being around Mark now, and he still clings to me like he’s not over him,” Renjun grumbled to Jaemin, who- according to a unanimous vote in the group chat (the one with Mark in it this time)- was pretty much the cupid of the group. Donghyuck should have been asking Jaemin for advice, but _no_ , he bothered Renjun, who’d been single and happy about it all his life. 

I mean, seeing all the romance troubles happening to his friends, and the messes he had to pick up, Renjun had pretty much vowed to never get into a messy relationship himself. 

“That’s probably because you indulge him too much,” Jaemin replied, rolling her eyes. “I’ve known you my whole life, and Donghyuck is the one acting like you two are joined at the hip.”

“You have Jeno, don’t you?”

“Not the _same_ , Renjun. The point is, have you considered that maybe Donghyuck is planning something?” Jaemin retorted, pointing her newly manicured nails at him. “Any anniversaries, birthdays?” 

Renjun looked at his calendar for anything he had forgotten about. Jaemin had once programmed everything relevant into his calendar to repeat for the next infinite cycle of forevers so that Renjun didn’t end up somehow forgetting something simple like one of their birthdays.

“Nothing that you’ve put into my phone, at least,” Renjun said, holding up the screen of his phone for Jaemin to see. 

“Then don’t ask me,” Jaemin shrugged her shoulders. “Out of everyone, you know Donghyuck best.”

“Helpful,” Renjun muttered. Jaemin scoffed at his ungratefulness, taking a bite out of her sandwich as Renjun put his phone away again. 

“But it’s good, right? Donghyuck no longer likes straight boy Mark,” Jaemin said, waving her hands around lazily. “Clinging to his best friend seems like a better option than long-distance pining after a guy that can’t return your feelings, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, well, it’s just not very _Donghyuck_ of Donghyuck, you know?” Renjun waved his hands in the same sort of way Jaemin had. “Dependence is not a good thing.”

“And there goes your psychology degree, rearing its ugly head,” Jaemin observed.

Renjun sneered half-heartedly, “You can’t talk, sociology major.”

  
  


Donghyuck wasn’t home when Renjun unlocked the door, but there a was single fresh flower vase- Renjun recognized the vase as the one he had bought several months ago and never found the flowers to fill it. He had shoved it in the back of his tallest cupboard and forgotten by it. 

By it, Donghyuck wrote a note: _Travelling to another city for work back soon tmrw night probably, I bought you your favorite restaurant’s entire menu to make up for the ramen. the ice cream mochi + that one dessert idk the name of is in the freezer. don’t miss me too much renjun ;)_

Holding the note still, Renjun opened the fridge. Sure enough, the body of the fridge had been filled with takeout containers, and the freezer poorly pilled with mochi ice cream and tanghulu. Renjun smiled softly to himself at the sight of the prepackaged food. 

“It’s only a day, do you need to buy all of this?” Renjun muttered to himself. Despite his slightly callous words, there was still a smile on his face opening the soup to heat it up. He couldn’t eat it all, but it would easily be his lunch and _their_ dinner tomorrow. 

  
  


Renjun was observant of everyone around him, he was good with everyone- everyone except himself. Apparently, if anything vaguely interesting was happening to him- he would be as clueless as Jeno was of just about everything. 

Maybe that wasn’t the fairest comparison, but Renjun wasn’t much of a poet or a writer. 

Case in point: Renjun hadn’t been expecting Donghyuck to kiss him. 

He had been in the kitchen, cooking food for the person acting as a parasite in his apartment. Donghyuck had become a permanent guest in his home, taking over the coffee shop with his plans of dominating the sky with his building sketches and floor plans. Renjun vacuumed up more eraser bits than he had in his entire six-year college career with Donghyuck around.

“Renjun, which one of these looks better?” Donghyuck walked into the kitchen, holding up an IPad of two solidified floor plans. He handed the tablet to an unsuspecting Renjun, who focused a little more than the screen in front of him, rather than the man staring at him as if committing his features to memory.

“It’s that gaming company renovation you’re working on, right? I think the first one suits them better, it-” as Renjun glanced back up to explain his thoughts, Donghyuck was leaning in, his hands cradling the undersides of Renjun’s jawline like a pool of water, afraid that he would slip through his fingers. 

And then he was being kissed- gently at first and when Renjun made no move to pull away, Donghyuck became bolder.

It didn’t make sense for a few seconds, the shattered stained glass of Donghyuck’s massive crush on Mark didn’t result in Donghyuck kissing _him_. Donghyuck didn’t like boys like Renjun, the kind of men who were quiet and living in their heads. He was supposed to like loud boys, who could match his excitement for everything, even the snark in his voice.

The flaw was just that: “ _supposed to_ ”. 

And then suddenly everything he’d ignored crash back down to him, and Renjun wondered if Donghyuck’s so-called crush on Mark was a self-destructive function or a silent confession of his feelings or _both_ because Renjun was right, in some odd, twisted way: Donghyuck didn’t technically like Mark; at least, not in the way he had once like the nameless flower hop owner or Xiao Dejun- because the person he was reaching for was him all along.

When Donghyuck pulled away, Renjun was buzzing like he’d made the biggest scientific discovery of all time. 

“Why?” Renjun whispered. “You could’ve just- said something.”

There was a pause, and then, “Because I didn’t believe it myself-you know me best, Renjun. I think we already established I had a type, so I tried to avoid it. It didn’t _work_ , I need better advice.”

Renjun flicked Donghyuck’s cheek with his fingers, “I thought we both knew I have no right to give advice, seeing as I’ve been single for years. It’s your fault for asking me, of all people.”

Donghyuck’s familiar, mischievous grin lit up his face, “Whatever. I listened to your advice and it worked out didn’t it? I’ve always had faith in your input.”

And then he was kissing Renjun again.

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed that bit of a break from all my angst fiction T~T it wasn't quite fluff so it was not as hard to write as fluff. maybe one day...... i will write true fluff but if you have any thoughts, i would love to hear them! <3


End file.
